complete verse (John 4:37)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 4:37:

  • Uma: “So, the saying is true that says: ‘One plants, another harvests.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “This saying is true, they say, ‘One plants and another harvests.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “It is very true the word of God which says, ‘One plants and another harvests.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The saying of people is true (appreciation particle) which says, ‘One transplants, another also harvests.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “For herein, what the saying says is true that the cultivator and the harvester are not the same person.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “There is a saying which goes: ‘One plants, another harvests.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

He deliberately took time to draw near to social outcasts (image)

“Jesus is dressed in a different style of clothing than the style of the woman who is shown as a Lanna Thai northerner. It is unusual for him to talk to a person from a different region, especially a woman. The clothes, the roof of the house in the background, and the dipper for water all indicate that this is in northern Thailand.”

Drawing by Sawai Chinnawong who employs northern and central Thailand’s popular distinctive artistic style originally used to depict Buddhist moral principles and other religious themes; explanation by Paul DeNeui. From That Man Who Came to Save Us by Sawai Chinnawong and Paul H. DeNeui, William Carey Library, 2010. . For more images by Sawai Chinnawong in TIPs see here.

See also The woman at the well (image).

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Woman at the Well .

Translation commentary on John 4:37

This verse begins with three Greek words which may be translated literally “for in this.” The purpose of this expression is to tie the proverb to its application, and it is probable that the application of the proverb is found in verse 38, not in verse 36. Good News Translation does not render these words explicitly, though some translations have “for here…” (Jerusalem Bible “For here the proverb holds good:”).

In some languages it is important to make a distinction in verbs for “planting.” In one instance it may be the process of setting plants into the ground; in another, a matter of scattering seed. In this context a verb for scattering (or planting) seed is appropriate.

In some languages the saying is true may be translated “what people so often say is true” or “what people are in the habit of repeating is true.” The connection between this saying and verse 38 may be indicated by an introductory expression, for example, “it is like this” or “that is how it is.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .